1. The Permanent Settlement was introduced in Bengal in?
A) 1765
B) 1793
C) 1813
D) 1833
Answer: B) 1793
Explanation: Introduced by Lord Cornwallis in Bengal, Bihar & Orissa.
2. The architect of the Permanent Settlement was?
A) Charles Metcalfe
B) Lord Cornwallis
C) John Shore
D) Lord Wellesley
Answer: C) John Shore
Explanation: Suggested it; Cornwallis implemented it.
3. Under Permanent Settlement, zamindars were recognized as?
A) Owners of land
B) Tenants of government
C) Agents of revenue collection only
D) Peasants
Answer: A) Owners of land
Explanation: They became hereditary owners, collecting fixed revenue.
4. Permanent Settlement fixed revenue with zamindars for how long?
A) 10 years
B) 20 years
C) 30 years
D) Permanently
Answer: D) Permanently
Explanation: Hence the name; revenue demand fixed forever.
5. The main drawback of Permanent Settlement was?
A) Government revenue increased
B) Zamindars improved agriculture
C) Peasants suffered exploitation
D) Trade flourished
Answer: C) Peasants suffered exploitation
Explanation: Zamindars exploited peasants and neglected improvements.
6. Ryotwari system was introduced mainly in?
A) Bengal and Bihar
B) Madras and Bombay Presidencies
C) Punjab and NW Provinces
D) Awadh and Rohilkhand
Answer: B) Madras and Bombay Presidencies
Explanation: Introduced by Thomas Munro and Alexander Read.
7. Under Ryotwari system, revenue was collected from?
A) Zamindars
B) Village headmen
C) Individual peasants (ryots)
D) Moneylenders
Answer: C) Individual peasants (ryots)
Explanation: Ryot was recognized as owner subject to paying revenue.
8. The Ryotwari system was introduced by?
A) Cornwallis
B) Thomas Munro
C) John Shore
D) Charles Metcalfe
Answer: B) Thomas Munro
Explanation: Introduced in Madras Presidency from 1820.
9. The main defect of Ryotwari system was?
A) It promoted cooperative farming
B) Heavy and uncertain revenue demand
C) Zamindars became powerful
D) Villages became autonomous
Answer: B) Heavy and uncertain revenue demand
Explanation: Demand was revised periodically, burdening peasants.
10. Mahalwari system was introduced mainly in?
A) Punjab, UP and Central India
B) Bengal
C) Madras
D) Bombay
Answer: A) Punjab, UP and Central India
Explanation: Introduced by Holt Mackenzie in 1822, modified by Robert Bird in 1833.
11. Under Mahalwari system, revenue was collected from?
A) Zamindars
B) Individual peasants
C) Village/Mahal as a whole
D) Moneylenders
Answer: C) Village/Mahal as a whole
Explanation: Entire village community was responsible.
12. The Permanent Settlement benefitted mainly?
A) Peasants
B) Zamindars
C) British officials
D) Artisans
Answer: B) Zamindars
Explanation: They became landlords and often absentees.
13. Who described Permanent Settlement as “the greatest misfortune that ever befell Bengal”?
A) Macaulay
B) R.C. Dutt
C) Dadabhai Naoroji
D) William Digby
Answer: B) R.C. Dutt
Explanation: He criticized it for ruining peasants and agriculture.
14. Mahalwari system was also called?
A) Zamindari system
B) Ryotwari system
C) Village system
D) Tribal system
Answer: C) Village system
Explanation: Because village collectively was responsible for payment.
15. The Permanent Settlement was first introduced in which province?
A) Bengal
B) Bihar
C) Orissa
D) All three together
Answer: D) All three together
Explanation: Bengal, Bihar, Orissa — the core of Company’s revenue.
16. Which revenue system created a “class of absentee landlords”?
A) Mahalwari
B) Ryotwari
C) Permanent Settlement
D) Inamdari
Answer: C) Permanent Settlement
Explanation: Zamindars often lived in cities, not villages.
17. Who called Ryotwari system “a system of government by strangulation”?
A) R.C. Dutt
B) Dadabhai Naoroji
C) William Digby
D) Karl Marx
Answer: A) R.C. Dutt
Explanation: Due to heavy burden and rigid collection.
18. The land revenue policy of British aimed primarily at?
A) Development of agriculture
B) Industrial growth in India
C) Maximizing revenue for British government
D) Welfare of peasants
Answer: C) Maximizing revenue for British government
Explanation: The main motive was revenue extraction.
19. The Inam Commission was related to which revenue policy?
A) Permanent Settlement
B) Ryotwari Settlement
C) Mahalwari Settlement
D) Inamdari land grants
Answer: D) Inamdari land grants
Explanation: Inam Commission (1852) under Bombay presidency reviewed land grants.
20. The revenue system that gave rise to moneylenders’ dominance was?
A) Ryotwari
B) Mahalwari
C) Permanent Settlement
D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above
Explanation: In all systems, peasants depended on moneylenders due to high taxes.
21. The zamindars under Permanent Settlement often became?
A) Enlightened landlords
B) Absentee rent collectors
C) Cooperative farmers
D) Social reformers
Answer: B) Absentee rent collectors
Explanation: They lived away, caring only for revenue collection.
22. Under Ryotwari system, failure to pay revenue led to?
A) Reduction of tax
B) Transfer of land to others
C) Zamindar intervention
D) Forgiveness of debt
Answer: B) Transfer of land to others
Explanation: Peasant lost land if he failed to pay.
23. Holt Mackenzie’s 1822 proposal led to which system?
A) Zamindari
B) Mahalwari
C) Ryotwari
D) Jagirdari
Answer: B) Mahalwari
Explanation: Implemented in NW Provinces under Robert Bird later.
24. One long-term effect of British revenue policies was?
A) Growth of Indian industry
B) Agricultural prosperity
C) Rural indebtedness and poverty
D) Self-sufficiency of villages
Answer: C) Rural indebtedness and poverty
Explanation: Peasants borrowed heavily, leading to debt and distress.
25. Who wrote “The economic drain ruined Indian agriculture and village society” regarding revenue policies?
A) Dadabhai Naoroji
B) R.C. Dutt
C) William Digby
D) Karl Marx
Answer: B) R.C. Dutt
Explanation: In Economic History of India, he exposed exploitative policies.
26. The term “Deindustrialization” in the Indian context refers to?
A) Decline of Indian handicraft industries
B) Growth of Indian modern industries
C) Increase in agricultural production
D) British industrial decline
Answer: A) Decline of Indian handicraft industries
Explanation: Indian textile, handicrafts collapsed due to British imports and policies.
27. Who first used the term “Deindustrialization” to describe India under British rule?
A) Dadabhai Naoroji
B) William Digby
C) R.C. Dutt
D) Romesh Dutt
Answer: C) R.C. Dutt
Explanation: He described destruction of Indian industries in Economic History of India.
28. Which Indian industry suffered most due to British industrial goods?
A) Iron industry
B) Textile industry
C) Shipbuilding industry
D) Indigo industry
Answer: B) Textile industry
Explanation: Indian cotton textiles were destroyed by cheap machine-made British textiles.
29. The main reason for decline of Indian textiles was?
A) Poor Indian quality
B) Heavy British imports & discriminatory tariffs
C) Lack of demand
D) Indian weavers migrated
Answer: B) Heavy British imports & discriminatory tariffs
Explanation: British goods entered freely, Indian goods taxed in Britain.
30. Which industry of Bengal was particularly destroyed by British policies?
A) Jute
B) Cotton textiles (muslin)
C) Indigo
D) Silk weaving
Answer: B) Cotton textiles (muslin)
Explanation: The fine muslin of Bengal lost global market due to competition and policies.
31. The term “Drain of Wealth” was popularized by?
A) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
B) Dadabhai Naoroji
C) Mahatma Gandhi
D) R.C. Dutt
Answer: B) Dadabhai Naoroji
Explanation: He exposed economic drain in Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1901).
32. The drain of wealth theory emphasized that?
A) British trade enriched Indians
B) India’s wealth was transferred to Britain without returns
C) British brought capital investment to India
D) Indian rulers drained peasants
Answer: B) India’s wealth was transferred to Britain without returns
Explanation: Through remittances, salaries, pensions, profits, India’s resources drained.
33. According to Dadabhai Naoroji, the chief cause of Indian poverty was?
A) Overpopulation
B) Drain of wealth
C) Famines
D) Peasant indebtedness
Answer: B) Drain of wealth
Explanation: He called it “the fundamental evil” of British rule.
34. The “Drain” included?
A) Salaries of British officials
B) Profits of British companies
C) Home charges & pensions
D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above
Explanation: All formed part of the “unrequited export” of Indian wealth.
35. Who called British economic policies in India “a bleeding wound”?
A) Dadabhai Naoroji
B) William Digby
C) Mahatma Gandhi
D) R.C. Dutt
Answer: C) Mahatma Gandhi
Explanation: Gandhi described the drain as a wound sucking India’s vitality.
36. British free trade policy in India meant?
A) Equal treatment to Indian and British goods
B) India opened to British imports without duties
C) Indian goods freely exported to Britain
D) Protection of Indian industries
Answer: B) India opened to British imports without duties
Explanation: British goods entered freely, Indian goods taxed abroad.
37. Discriminatory tariff policies of the British meant?
A) Indian goods taxed heavily in Britain
B) British goods entered India duty-free
C) Both A and B
D) None
Answer: C) Both A and B
Explanation: Indian textiles faced heavy import duties in Britain; British textiles entered India freely.
38. Who wrote Economic History of India describing exploitation under British?
A) R.C. Dutt
B) Dadabhai Naoroji
C) William Digby
D) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Answer: A) R.C. Dutt
Explanation: His classic work exposed the drain and deindustrialization.
39. British commercial policy converted India into?
A) An industrial hub
B) A supplier of raw materials and consumer of British goods
C) An exporter of manufactured goods
D) A trade rival of Britain
Answer: B) A supplier of raw materials and consumer of British goods
Explanation: India became “an agricultural colony” of Britain.
40. The East India Company’s trade monopoly with India ended by?
A) Pitt’s India Act 1784
B) Charter Act 1813
C) Charter Act 1833
D) Charter Act 1853
Answer: B) Charter Act 1813
Explanation: Ended monopoly in Indian trade (except tea and China).
41. The monopoly of East India Company in tea trade and China trade ended by?
A) Charter Act 1813
B) Charter Act 1833
C) Charter Act 1853
D) Government of India Act 1858
Answer: B) Charter Act 1833
Explanation: Company lost all commercial functions; became purely administrative.
42. The British imposed heavy duties on Indian textiles in Britain, sometimes up to?
A) 10%
B) 50%
C) 70–80%
D) 100%
Answer: C) 70–80%
Explanation: To protect Lancashire mills, Indian textiles taxed heavily.
43. Which Indian product faced near extinction due to British policies?
A) Jute
B) Muslin
C) Coffee
D) Wheat
Answer: B) Muslin
Explanation: The handwoven muslin of Bengal was wiped out.
44. Which British economic policy led to India’s role as a “raw material supplier”?
A) Tariff policy
B) Free trade policy
C) Deindustrialization
D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above
Explanation: All ensured India exported cotton, indigo, jute, etc.
45. Who described India under British rule as “a milk cow for England”?
A) Dadabhai Naoroji
B) R.C. Dutt
C) Karl Marx
D) William Digby
Answer: C) Karl Marx
Explanation: He condemned economic exploitation of India.
46. Which British commercial crop became notorious for peasant revolts in Bengal and Bihar?
A) Cotton
B) Indigo
C) Tea
D) Jute
Answer: B) Indigo
Explanation: Indigo planters exploited peasants, leading to the Indigo Revolt (1859–60).
47. The main motive of British commercial policies in India was?
A) Industrialization of India
B) Development of agriculture
C) Use India for British industrial interests
D) Welfare of peasants
Answer: C) Use India for British industrial interests
Explanation: India became raw material supplier and market for Britain.
48. The Drain of Wealth was a major theme in the writings of?
A) Dadabhai Naoroji
B) R.C. Dutt
C) G.V. Joshi
D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above
Explanation: All nationalist thinkers exposed the drain.
49. The impact of Drain of Wealth on India was?
A) Increase in capital investment
B) Fall in savings and capital formation
C) Industrial growth
D) Rise of agriculture exports with prosperity
Answer: B) Fall in savings and capital formation
Explanation: India’s surplus was siphoned away; no reinvestment occurred.
50. The long-term result of British economic and commercial policies was?
A) Prosperity of Indian peasants
B) Industrial development
C) Deindustrialization, poverty, famines
D) Balanced trade
Answer: C) Deindustrialization, poverty, famines
Explanation: India’s economy stagnated and suffered massive poverty.
51. The first railway line in India (1853) ran between?
A) Calcutta and Howrah
B) Bombay and Thane
C) Madras and Arakkonam
D) Delhi and Agra
Answer: B) Bombay and Thane
Explanation: Inaugurated on 16 April 1853, covering 34 km.
52. Lord Dalhousie is called the “father of Indian railways” because?
A) He built the longest railway line
B) He gave a detailed Railway Policy (1853)
C) He founded Indian Railways Company
D) He promoted underground metro
Answer: B) He gave a detailed Railway Policy (1853)
Explanation: Railways were introduced for strategic and commercial reasons.
53. The main objective of British railways in India was?
A) Development of Indian economy
B) Cheap transport for Indians
C) Quick movement of troops & raw materials
D) Reducing famine
Answer: C) Quick movement of troops & raw materials
Explanation: Strategic and economic exploitation were the primary aims.
54. The railway construction in India was financed mainly by?
A) Indian princes
B) British investors with guaranteed returns
C) Peasants’ tax
D) Indian merchants
Answer: B) British investors with guaranteed returns
Explanation: The “Guarantee System” assured 5% return to British investors.
55. Which sector benefitted most from the introduction of railways in India?
A) Indian industry
B) British textile industry
C) Indian peasants
D) Indian artisans
Answer: B) British textile industry
Explanation: Railways ensured cheap transport of British goods into interiors.
56. Which of the following was a consequence of British trade policy?
A) India became a supplier of raw materials
B) India became a market for British goods
C) India’s traditional industries declined
D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above
Explanation: British trade policy subordinated Indian economy to Britain’s needs.
57. India’s foreign trade under British rule was characterized by?
A) Import of raw materials, export of finished goods
B) Import of finished goods, export of raw materials
C) Balanced growth of trade
D) Industrial diversification
Answer: B) Import of finished goods, export of raw materials
Explanation: India exported cotton, indigo, opium; imported Lancashire textiles, steel, machinery.
58. The main item of Indian export to China in the 19th century was?
A) Tea
B) Cotton
C) Opium
D) Jute
Answer: C) Opium
Explanation: British forced Indian peasants to grow opium for export to China.
59. Which Act officially ended the East India Company’s trading activities?
A) Charter Act 1813
B) Charter Act 1833
C) Charter Act 1853
D) Government of India Act 1858
Answer: B) Charter Act 1833
Explanation: Company became only an administrative body.
60. The railways introduced by the British primarily served?
A) Indian industries
B) Peasants’ transport
C) British military and commercial interests
D) Balanced economic growth
Answer: C) British military and commercial interests
Explanation: They were not intended for Indian development.
61. Famines under British rule were mainly caused by?
A) Population growth only
B) Failure of rains
C) British economic and revenue policies
D) Lack of storage facilities
Answer: C) British economic and revenue policies
Explanation: Heavy taxation, cash-crop cultivation, and neglect of irrigation worsened famines.
62. The first major famine in British India occurred in?
A) 1769–70 (Bengal famine)
B) 1783–84 (Mysore famine)
C) 1837–38 (North India famine)
D) 1876–78 (Deccan famine)
Answer: A) 1769–70 (Bengal famine)
Explanation: Millions died due to Company’s revenue demands despite crop failure.
63. The Bengal Famine of 1770 killed about?
A) 1 million
B) 5 million
C) 10 million
D) 15 million
Answer: C) 10 million
Explanation: Nearly one-third of Bengal’s population perished.
64. Who wrote “Famines in India are artificial, caused by British policies”?
A) Dadabhai Naoroji
B) William Digby
C) R.C. Dutt
D) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Answer: B) William Digby
Explanation: He strongly criticized British famine policies.
65. The Deccan famine of 1876–78 caused death of about?
A) 2 million
B) 5 million
C) 8 million
D) 10 million
Answer: C) 8 million
Explanation: British neglect worsened the tragedy.
66. Which British official formulated the “Famine Codes” in India?
A) Lord Ripon
B) Sir Richard Strachey
C) Lord Curzon
D) John Lawrence
Answer: B) Sir Richard Strachey
Explanation: Famine Codes (1880) prescribed relief measures.
67. British policy of growing commercial crops like indigo, cotton, and opium led to?
A) Self-sufficiency in food
B) Growth of Indian industries
C) Decline in food production and famines
D) Balanced agriculture
Answer: C) Decline in food production and famines
Explanation: Peasants forced to grow cash crops reduced food supply.
68. The recurring famines under British rule were a result of?
A) Natural calamities only
B) Exploitative revenue and trade policies
C) Over-irrigation
D) Excessive industrialization
Answer: B) Exploitative revenue and trade policies
Explanation: Famines became structural due to colonial exploitation.
69. The average life expectancy of Indians in 1911 census was about?
A) 24 years
B) 32 years
C) 40 years
D) 50 years
Answer: A) 24 years
Explanation: Famines, poverty, and epidemics drastically reduced life expectancy.
70. Dadabhai Naoroji’s book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India focused on?
A) Land reforms
B) Drain of wealth and poverty
C) Indian nationalism
D) Famines only
Answer: B) Drain of wealth and poverty
Explanation: He exposed how British policies caused Indian poverty.
71. The economic impact of railways on India was?
A) Stimulated Indian industries
B) Accelerated deindustrialization
C) Reduced rural poverty
D) Promoted food security
Answer: B) Accelerated deindustrialization
Explanation: Railways facilitated British goods entry into Indian hinterlands.
72. Which British Viceroy said railways were the “iron sinews of war”?
A) Lord Dalhousie
B) Lord Curzon
C) Lord Canning
D) Lord Ripon
Answer: A) Lord Dalhousie
Explanation: He saw railways as strategic military infrastructure.
73. Famines under British rule were described by Indian nationalists as?
A) Natural disasters
B) Results of bad monsoons only
C) Man-made disasters due to colonial policies
D) Acts of God
Answer: C) Man-made disasters due to colonial policies
Explanation: Nationalists argued famines were linked to revenue and export policies.
74. Which British economic policy worsened the food crisis in India?
A) Export of Indian food grains to Britain
B) Import of British wheat into India
C) Protection of Indian peasants
D) Investment in irrigation
Answer: A) Export of Indian food grains to Britain
Explanation: Even during famines, food was exported to Britain.
75. The overall impact of British economic policies by the late 19th century was?
A) Prosperity of Indian villages
B) Industrial growth
C) Rural poverty, famines, deindustrialization
D) Balanced trade and agriculture
Answer: C) Rural poverty, famines, deindustrialization
Explanation: India’s economy was subordinated to British needs.
76. The overall impact of British economic policies in India was?
A) Industrial revolution in India
B) Growth of agriculture and prosperity
C) Rural poverty, stagnation, and deindustrialization
D) Balanced growth of economy
Answer: C) Rural poverty, stagnation, and deindustrialization
Explanation: British policies subordinated India to Britain’s industrial and imperial interests.
77. Dadabhai Naoroji is known as the?
A) Father of Indian Politics
B) Father of Drain of Wealth Theory
C) Father of Indian Social Reform
D) Father of Indian Renaissance
Answer: B) Father of Drain of Wealth Theory
Explanation: He highlighted how India’s wealth was being drained to Britain.
78. Who said “India is being bled white under British rule”?
A) Dadabhai Naoroji
B) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
C) Mahatma Gandhi
D) R.C. Dutt
Answer: A) Dadabhai Naoroji
Explanation: He exposed Britain’s exploitative economic policies.
79. The economic exploitation under British rule led to the rise of?
A) Nationalist economic critique
B) Industrial revival
C) Peasant prosperity
D) Political stability
Answer: A) Nationalist economic critique
Explanation: Nationalists began linking poverty and famines to colonial policies.
80. Who called British rule in India “an economic nightmare”?
A) William Digby
B) Karl Marx
C) Dadabhai Naoroji
D) Mahatma Gandhi
Answer: B) Karl Marx
Explanation: He condemned Britain for plundering Indian wealth.
81. The main legacy of British economic policies was?
A) Self-reliance
B) Food security
C) Underdevelopment and dependency
D) Industrial prosperity
Answer: C) Underdevelopment and dependency
Explanation: India was left economically dependent and backward.
82. Nationalist leaders argued that British railways in India were?
A) Built for Indian development
B) Symbols of British exploitation
C) A welfare measure
D) Proof of modernization
Answer: B) Symbols of British exploitation
Explanation: They mainly served Britain’s trade and military interests.
83. Famines in British India were described by William Digby as?
A) Natural calamities
B) “Man-made holocausts”
C) Cyclical events
D) Acts of Providence
Answer: B) “Man-made holocausts”
Explanation: He blamed colonial policies for causing famines.
84. The phrase “Knife of sugar” to describe British rule in India was used by?
A) Dadabhai Naoroji
B) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
C) Mahatma Gandhi
D) Raja Ram Mohan Roy
Answer: C) Mahatma Gandhi
Explanation: Sweet in appearance, but destructive in reality.
85. Which nationalist called India under the British “a classic example of a dependent economy”?
A) M.G. Ranade
B) R.C. Dutt
C) Jawaharlal Nehru
D) Dadabhai Naoroji
Answer: A) M.G. Ranade
Explanation: He highlighted structural dependency of India’s economy.
86. The major reason for recurring famines under British was?
A) Only monsoon failure
B) Export-oriented cash crop cultivation and revenue pressure
C) Over-irrigation
D) Lack of population control
Answer: B) Export-oriented cash crop cultivation and revenue pressure
Explanation: Policies diverted land from food to cash crops.
87. The concept of “Home Charges” in drain theory referred to?
A) Household expenses of British officers
B) Payments to Britain for administration, pensions, interest on debt
C) Food grain charges for peasants
D) Costs of Indian kings’ courts
Answer: B) Payments to Britain for administration, pensions, interest on debt
Explanation: A major component of economic drain.
88. Who wrote Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1901)?
A) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
B) R.C. Dutt
C) Dadabhai Naoroji
D) William Digby
Answer: C) Dadabhai Naoroji
Explanation: His classic book analyzed economic drain and poverty.
89. Who wrote Economic History of India (1902)?
A) Dadabhai Naoroji
B) William Digby
C) R.C. Dutt
D) Mahadev Govind Ranade
Answer: C) R.C. Dutt
Explanation: It examined impact of British policies on Indian economy.
90. The impact of commercialization of agriculture under British was?
A) Increase in food grain production
B) Fall in food availability and rise in famines
C) Agricultural prosperity
D) Balance between food and cash crops
Answer: B) Fall in food availability and rise in famines
Explanation: Land diverted to cash crops reduced food security.
91. Indian handicraft decline under British is also called?
A) Economic Renaissance
B) Industrialization
C) Deindustrialization
D) Mechanization
Answer: C) Deindustrialization
Explanation: India’s handicraft industries collapsed due to British imports.
92. Which of the following was not a British policy consequence?
A) Rural indebtedness
B) Industrial development
C) Famine vulnerability
D) Drain of wealth
Answer: B) Industrial development
Explanation: India was deindustrialized, not industrialized.
93. The main export from India to Britain in 19th century was?
A) Machine tools
B) Manufactured textiles
C) Raw materials like cotton, jute, indigo
D) Automobiles
Answer: C) Raw materials like cotton, jute, indigo
Explanation: India was a raw material supplier.
94. Which colonial economic policy worsened Indian artisans’ condition?
A) Free trade policy
B) Discriminatory tariffs
C) Import of British textiles
D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above
Explanation: All combined to destroy Indian handicrafts.
95. Dadabhai Naoroji compared the economic drain of India to?
A) A leaking pot
B) A vampire sucking blood
C) A knife of sugar
D) A hollow tree
Answer: B) A vampire sucking blood
Explanation: He used vivid metaphors to describe exploitation.
96. The lasting economic legacy of British rule in India was?
A) Industrial transformation
B) Self-reliant agriculture
C) Stagnant economy with poverty and dependence
D) Welfare of peasants
Answer: C) Stagnant economy with poverty and dependence
Explanation: India entered independence as an underdeveloped economy.
97. The British railway guarantee system primarily benefitted?
A) Indian capitalists
B) British investors
C) Indian peasants
D) Indian traders
Answer: B) British investors
Explanation: Assured fixed returns regardless of actual profits.
98. The economic exploitation of India by the British provided fuel for?
A) Indian National Congress
B) Swadeshi Movement
C) Drain Theory debates
D) All of the above
Answer: D) All of the above
Explanation: Economic grievances became the base of nationalism.
99. The economic policy of the British can best be described as?
A) Colonial economy for metropolitan benefit
B) Indian welfare state model
C) Self-sufficient agriculture system
D) Liberal industrialization policy
Answer: A) Colonial economy for metropolitan benefit
Explanation: India was subordinated to Britain’s economic needs.
100. Which statement best sums up British economic policy in India?
A) It modernized India’s economy fully
B) It industrialized India on Western lines
C) It exploited India as a colony, leaving poverty and underdevelopment
D) It ensured balanced economic growth
Answer: C) It exploited India as a colony, leaving poverty and underdevelopment
Explanation: Colonial policies prioritized Britain’s gain at India’s cost.